Pregnant During An Apocalypse [BL]-Chapter 201 - Getting to the mall

"First, let’s find Yunfeng!" Muchen shouted over the roar of the engines, his voice carried by wind and worry alike.

The two bikes split down the road, tires screeching as they sped through the rubble-strewn streets.

The scent of ash and something decayed hung thick in the air.

No sooner had they passed the first junction than several zombies burst from nearby buildings—arms flailing, jaws snapping, eyes wild with hunger.

They leapt toward the sound, but the bikes were too fast.

Their groans faded behind them, but the machines’ thunderous engines had already done damage.

More undead stirred. Shadows in alleys, corpses in doorways—they all rose, drawn toward the new sound of life.

"Shit, they’re coming!" Shao yelled, tightening his grip as Muchen swerved around a half-toppled streetlight.

"They’re normal ones," Jai called back, voice cold, but calm. "Don’t stop unless you have to!"

The bikes zigzagged between debris and corpses, weaving through a warzone of collapsed buildings and flickering streetlights.

Once, they had to stop—just for a second—when a bus had crumbled onto the main road.

The undead caught up then, but they were the slow kind, easy to take down with a few swings.

Blood sprayed against the ruined pavement as Shao crushed a skull with his bat. Qiu Yue groaned, wiping ichor from his face. "I liked this shirt," he muttered.

No one laughed.

Soon, they reached the collapsed wall—the place Yunfeng had last been seen.

Muchen jumped off his bike before the engine had even cooled. "Yunfeng?" he called, voice sharp, but hoarse with desperation.

He ran ahead, eyes scanning every bit of rubble, every flicker of movement. Nothing.

Just the empty breath of the wind through concrete.

Hana approached quietly. She placed a gentle hand on his back, grounding him. "He must have gone out of the city," she said softly. "He told me... he wanted to save Jai’s grandfather. He’s probably already there."

Muchen didn’t reply immediately. His chest rose and fell with shallow, uneven breaths. His eyes stayed locked on the empty path beyond the wall, as if staring hard enough might bring Yunfeng running back.

"He wouldn’t leave me. Not without saying anything," he murmured. "Not again..."

Hana’s expression softened with sympathy.

But Muchen knew better.

Yunfeng had left him once before.

No note. No warning. Just gone.

Back then, it felt like the sun had been swallowed by the earth.

And now, here they were again—different war, same ache.

He shut his eyes for a second, jaw tight, forcing the panic down like bitter medicine. "He’s probably at the barricade," he whispered to himself, almost like a prayer. "He always wants to save everyone. Stupid brat..."

A long, weary sigh escaped him as he turned back toward the bike. "Having a young lover is hard," he muttered with a bittersweet smile. Hana didn’t say anything, but she walked beside him the rest of the way.

They drove again—through twisted roads where the trees had grown wild and broken, through tunnels that echoed with the distant hiss of undead limbs dragging along stone.

"Let’s take a detour," Muchen called back, voice stronger now. "We’re staying away from the zoo."

"Agreed," Jai responded. His voice was a little too quick, a little too hard. No one brought up why.

On the other side of the city, the setting sun cast long shadows over the ruins as Yunfeng and the remaining soldiers crossed the cracked highway that led toward the old mall. Grandpa Kailun followed behind, his breath labored but steady, his eyes as sharp as ever despite his age.

They had moved quickly, but something—some instinct—had pulled Yunfeng ahead.

And then he smelled it.

Faint, sweet, familiar.

The unmistakable scent of roses.

His steps faltered. His heart almost stopped.

"Muchen..." he whispered.

Then louder. "Muchen! MUCHEN!"

The others startled at his sudden cry, but Yunfeng was already running—sprinting toward the mall’s broken glass doors like a man possessed. The scent grew stronger as he neared. His lungs heaved. His heart pounded.

He burst through the entrance, but what greeted him made his joy curdle into dread.

Ten bodies. Blood. So much blood.

All of them strewn across the tiled floor like broken dolls, limbs bent at wrong angles. The scent of gunpowder still lingered, fresh and sharp. Yunfeng dropped to his knees beside the nearest corpse and pressed his trembling fingers to its neck.

Still warm.

Fresh.

His chest clenched painfully. "Muchen..." he breathed, fear creeping up his spine like cold vines.

He stood abruptly, feet stumbling over glass and gore as he ran further in. His eyes darted, frantic, until he saw something that made him stop mid-step.

Clothes.

Familiar ones.

Muchen’s old hoodie, blood-smeared but still intact, lying near the stairwell to the second floor. His breath caught as he rushed over, picked it up, and pressed it to his face.

It still smelled like him.

Like warmth. Like comfort. Like home.

He didn’t hesitate. He bolted up the stairs, skipping steps two at a time, pushing open the bathroom door with a bang.

It was wet.

The air was thick and humid, steam still curling against the cracked mirrors and broken tiles. The scent of soap and wet clothes clung to the air.

"They were here," he whispered to himself. "They took a bath. They were... they were just here."

He moved around the bathroom like a hound tracking prey, fingers brushing against damp towels and discarded wrappers. Hana’s pink backpack was gone. The food from the vending machine? Taken. The weapon crates? Picked clean.

They hadn’t just been here—they had regrouped.

And they had left.

He ran out of the bathroom, taking the stairs two at a time again. By now, the other soldiers had begun to fan out. Grandpa Kailun stood by the entrance, surveying the bloodied lobby with a grim look.

"They were here," Yunfeng said breathlessly. "Not even an hour ago. Muchen... Hana... they were here."

Kailun nodded. "We’ll find them. They can’t have gone far."

Yunfeng shook his head slowly. "No... that’s the strange part."

He stepped out of the building again, the city breeze hitting his face like a slap. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, trying to catch the scent again.

But it was gone.

Just... gone.

His eyes opened in confusion and growing fear. "His scent disappears after the mall entrance. Completely. It’s like they vanished into thin air."

One of the soldiers approached. "There are bike tracks."

"they left....." Yunfeng’s fists clenched at his sides. He hated this helplessness.

Why didn’t you wait for me?

His heart whispered it over and over.

He swallowed hard. "We keep going. Toward the barricade. If he’s not in the city anymore, he’ll go there."

"You sure?" Kailun asked.

Yunfeng nodded. "Yeah. I know him. He’d want to find me too. And he knows that’s the only place I’d go."